PIIN accepts applications for the Neuroscience Research Travel Award to support graduate student travel to scientific meetings or workshops held July through December and January through June.

The awards have a $500 limit for domestic travel and a $750 limit for international travel. Eligible graduate students must have a major professor who is affiliated with PIIN. You must be a student in good standing in a Purdue University (West Lafayette) Ph.D. program. To apply, submit a single pdf file containing items 1­-3 to neuro@purdue.edu. Please ask one referee to submit a confidential letter of recommendation on your behalf (see item 4 below for details). Each application should contain the following information:

1) A cover letter from the student that includes a url link to the meeting or conference to be attended, the approximate costs for the meeting (registration, travel, accommodation), and the type of presentation that you will make (poster, platform talk, etc.), if any. Please briefly explain the relevance of the conference and/or your work to the field of neuroscience, and why attending this particular meeting will be beneficial to your professional development. Please confirm that if you are selected as an award winner, you will be willing to assist in one PIIN activity within one year of receipt of the travel grant. Example activities include, but are not limited to, conducting outreach activities to the community at SpringFest or in local schools; graduate recruitment such as manning a booth at the Society for Neuroscience meeting; helping to organize graduate student activities at a yearly retreat. Please name your faculty mentor and the person who will write the letter of support (see item #4 below).

2) A copy of the abstract of your presentation, if applicable. If no abstract is to be included, please indicate why not in your cover letter.

3) A statement from your major professor that he/she supports your attendance to this meeting and indicating that sufficient lab funds exist to cover all costs over the travel award.

4) A confidential letter of support from a member of your thesis committee (not your major professor); one page is sufficient. This should be submitted as a pdf directly to neuro@purdue.edu by the referee.

Student Applications must be submitted by the Spring deadline (usually June 1) for the July-December grant period and the Fall deadline (usually December 1) for the January-June grant period.